The Survivor's Resolve
The grotesque roar echoed as the half-shattered specters scattered into nothingness. At the same time, the scepter containing the Outer God's power, which had been linked to the princess's body, also dissipated. It seemed we had achieved complete annihilation.
“Hmm…”
The woman watching from a distance narrowed her eyes. She was Karla Everen, adjutant to the Empire’s Second Star, Scarlet Frausia.
“That sword strike just now…”
Karla was also an elite who had accompanied Scarlet on countless contaminant purges. She knew that among the powers of an Outer God, there was often a blessing that nullified most physical attacks. The specters from earlier had clearly been protected by such a blessing.
Of course, even an Outer God's blessing wasn’t absolute. Anything exceeding its threshold could still inflict damage. But from what Karla had seen, the sword Kyle had unleashed didn’t seem powerful enough to break through that kind of protection.
She was a swordswoman herself—one skilled enough to serve as the adjutant of a Sword Master. In her eyes, the strike delivered by the former First Star of the Empire was anything but ordinary.
“Mindscape…?”
The ultimate technique only those who had reached the seventh ring or higher could display—the manifestation of one’s inner world. The art of projecting that inner realm beyond the self and into reality was known as Mindscape Realization.
Unlike ordinary techniques that followed the laws of the world, a true mindscape operated under the user’s own personal laws. Therefore, even if an Outer God was normally immune to physical harm, a properly manifested mindscape could bypass those rules and deal damage.
However, considering that typical Mindscape Realization usually transformed an entire area, Kyle’s version felt strangely off somehow.
‘No way.’
Karla’s eyes widened as she realized what he had done.
“He compressed the entire mindscape domain into nothing but the sword?”
It was absurd. A mindscape was the embodiment of one’s deepest beliefs. Compressing something like that into a single point was an idea so far beyond imagination that Karla couldn’t even begin to picture it. If she told anyone else, they probably wouldn’t believe her.
Yet the strike Kyle Amillan had unleashed moments ago had been so unnaturally precise and still that it was hard to explain any other way.
“As expected…”
While Karla was still admiring the sword strike, the growing commotion around her snapped her back to reality.
“The contaminants are scattering…?”
“I don’t know what’s happening, but let’s just kill them all.”
With the death of the specter that had been gathering the contaminants, no more were being drawn in. On top of that, the black flames that had been threatening the superhumans had been sliced apart by Kyle Amillan himself. There was nothing left that could endanger them now.
Only a handful of contaminants remained. They would likely be wiped out in no time.
And once every last contaminant was exterminated, the superhumans’ attention would naturally turn toward Kyle Amillan.
While it was true that Scarlet had gathered them using her authority to deal with the contaminant horde, Kyle was the one who had slain the mastermind behind it all. He was also the one who had cut down the black flames that none of them could even approach.
Reaching the level of a superhuman meant possessing immense pride. And people like that usually had ironclad egos as well. Would they really stay quiet after witnessing someone so overwhelmingly superior that he made them all look like extras?
There was bound to be quite the uproar. And in the midst of that chaos, an unpleasant truth—namely, that Lieutenant Colonel Kyle was actually Kyle Amillan—might come to light.
That was something neither she nor the person she served wished to see happen.
Of course, once things had reached this point, it would be impossible to completely hide his identity. But at the very least, she could delay the moment of revelation.
That was precisely why she had come here in the first place.
With that thought in mind, Karla headed toward the spot where Kyle and the princess of Raziel Kingdom stood.
The connection with the Outer God has been completely severed.
The princess's body has been purified of foreign influence.
“Haa…”
After unleashing the slash, I barely managed to steady my breathing. Even though I had used the sword as a medium, it still consumed a massive amount of mana. Nearly half of the mana I had left—close to seventy percent after fighting Princess Arleah—had been drained in that one strike.
On top of that, I had forcibly drawn out my body’s full potential to maximize the sword’s power. My muscles, startled by the sudden surge, needed time to calm down. I had to stay as composed as possible.
“This sword’s done for, huh.”
As I caught my breath and glanced at my hand, the Sword Demon’s blade was slowly disintegrating. I had two uses left when I started. One had been spent cutting through the black flames, and the other on the specter just now. It couldn’t endure any more.
If the Sword Demon’s blade had been Unique-grade like the ones Arleah or Scarlet possessed, it would have had an indestructible property. Unfortunately, this sword wasn’t Unique-grade. It had simply absorbed the blood of countless contaminants and people, becoming something vaguely demonic in nature.
It was never meant to be used for long in the first place.
“The connection…?”
Just as I was bidding farewell to the blade turning to ash, the princess’s voice came from behind me. She stood there, touching the area near her heart.
It seemed the link between her and the specter had been anchored around her heart. That explained why that unpleasant sensation I had felt inside her had originated from that spot.
I brushed off the last traces of powder from the sword’s remains and slowly approached the princess.
“Has the connection been severed?”
“Yes… It’s completely gone.”
“I can see that.”
With the specter’s disappearance, the aura that had been coiled around the princess’s entire body had also scattered. The eerie energy I had sensed back at Beatrice’s inn was gone. Only pure mana remained.
The princess’s body, which had served as a vessel for the Outer God’s descent, had been purified. Now there was only one thing left to worry about.
“The real problem is what to do with this scepter.”
Even after the specter vanished, the scepter continued to radiate the Outer God’s power. Although Raziel Kingdom had been destroyed and its royal ghosts were gone, the fact that this scepter had received the Outer God’s power remained unchanged. It would need to be handled so that no human hands could ever touch it again.
“We will take care of that.”
As I muttered while holding the scepter, Karla, who had been keeping her distance, approached and spoke.
“It’s far too significant an issue to simply pass off as a nuisance. There needs to be a clear cause. We’ll likely claim that the scepter the princess brought with her was the source of the problem.”
With those words, Karla took the scepter from me and placed it inside a glass case she had prepared in advance. It wasn’t ordinary glass—it was specially crafted by the Empire’s Magic Tower with containment properties. Even the power of an Outer God would be unable to leak out.
“In that case…”
As Karla tucked the glass case into her coat, the princess opened her mouth.
“What… will become of my punishment?”
Her gaze shifted between me and Karla. Although she had been half-controlled by the ghosts inside the scepter, she was still the one who had ultimately drawn in the specters and the contaminants. Even though she had done her best to trigger the incident far from the city, the path the contaminants had taken would require a tremendous amount of time and money to restore.
She had indeed damaged a route people needed to travel. There was no denying she had caused harm to the Empire. Some form of punishment was inevitable…
“The princess’s punishment… Haa…”
At Arleah’s question, Karla let out a deep sigh. It seemed even she found the situation quite troublesome.
After a moment of contemplation, she slowly spoke.
“To be honest, I don’t know. An incident of this scale must be reported to the higher-ups, and Lady Scarlet personally issued the mobilization order. It will be difficult for her to avoid punishment entirely.”
“I see.”
“Yes, well… However…”
Karla paused mid-sentence and glanced at me. I tilted my head at her sharp stare.
She looked at me with an expression that practically screamed you pathetic man, let out another heavy sigh, and continued.
“I will do my best to put in a good word. After all, it is true that you tried to avoid causing any damage to the Empire. The report will reflect that as well.”
At Karla’s words, the princess bowed her head deeply. Though she spoke that way, Karla had likely received reports about the princess’s usual behavior. There were certain things about Raziel Kingdom’s situation that had been quietly covered up. If a princess who had earned the favor of even the Empire’s citizens were to be directly punished, it wouldn’t look good.
It would be far better for the Empire to show a forgiving attitude despite what had happened. Besides, a superhuman of Princess Arleah’s caliber was quite rare even within the Empire.
“The scepter has been secured, and the contaminants should be exterminated soon. Let’s move to another location. Otherwise, there will be a commotion.”
At Karla’s suggestion, both I and Princess Arleah nodded. The last two slashes had undoubtedly drawn the attention of the many superhumans below. If we stayed here, they would come looking for us the moment the purge was complete.
But before that—
“Karla.”
“Yes.”
“With your position, you should be able to submit a recommendation to the Special Forces, correct?”
At my question, Karla thought for a moment before nodding.
“It is… possible.”
“Really? Then…”
“Wait, no. You can’t possibly be—!”
I ignored the way Karla’s face was rapidly losing color and voiced the thought I had been considering.
“What do you think about placing Arleah de Raziel in the Special Forces?”